AUTHOR'S METHOD OF FEEDING 168 



sack. But it takes considerable time for all the material 

 that has clogged the meshes of the sieve to shake out so 

 as to allow the machine to become as effective as it was 

 at the beginning. From this it is seen that the grain 

 thresher is more effective when not crowded to its fullest 

 capacity. It is also more effective when the moderate 

 quantity thus handled is approached from below than 

 when it is approached from above. These same processes 

 can be traced in pig feeding, only that it takes longer in 

 case of the pig to eliminate the factor of waste. 



Beyond a certain point, depending on the relation of 

 maintenance ration to full ration, the animal body is more 

 economical with the feed eaten when it is fed a smaller 

 quantity than when it is fed a larger amount of feed, be- 

 cause the factor of waste, due to excessive feeding and the 

 tendency toward nitrogen equilibrium, which is present 

 under prevailing conditions, in the animal body becomes 

 larger as the amount of feed eaten is increased. Add to 

 this the great quantity of feed required for digestion and 

 excretion of the waste products, and it is readily seen 

 how the ration becomes less effective with the increase 

 in the amount of feed eaten. On account of this tendency 

 toward nitrogen equilibrium, and the difficulty with which 

 the factor of waste is eliminated, the ration fed to the 

 animal is more effective when the proper quantity of feed 

 has been approached from below than when it has been 

 approached from above, similar to the grain thresher. 



VARIETY IN RATION. 



It is important that the ration for swine be made up of 

 more than one or two feeds. While a perfectly balanced 

 ration, so far as protein and carbohydrate are concerned, 

 can be made up from two feeds, as corn and soy-beans 



